This invention relates to the field of mobile robots, specifically the translation of vertical actuation to horizontal translation of a mobile robot.
Robots are conventionally made mobile by wheels, tracks, or legs. Examples of wheeled robots include the RATLER.TM. robots from Sandia National Laboratories. Examples of legged robots include those developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Conventional wheeled, tracked, and legged robots are used in a wide variety of applications.
Conventional robots have limited ability to traverse large obstacles, however. Obstacles much taller than the robot can prevent passage. Also, obstacles with significant horizontal gaps such as trenches can also prevent passage. One solution is to use bigger wheels and a bigger wheelbase. Larger wheels and wheelbase require more drive power, so the entire robot must be larger. Many applications, however, have cost, size, space, or transportation constraints that limit the size of robot than can be used.
One alternative to conventional mobility is hopping mobility. With hopping mobility, the robot jumps to move. Each jump is typically multiples of the robot's dimensions in height and width. Accordingly, the robot can hop over obstacles much larger than a similarly sized conventional robot could traverse. Hopping mobility can allow a small robot to traverse obstacles very large in relation to the robot itself, opening up applications that can not be addressed by conventional robots.
One of many difficulties encountered by contemporary proposed hopping robot designs is providing steerable horizontal mobility to accompany the vertical hopping actuation. The hopping mechanism typically generates a force impulse along an actuation axis. The usual technique involves a two degree of freedom tilt mechanism: the tilt mechanism orients the actuation axis along the desired initial trajectory of the hop. The force impulse then propels the robot along the desired initial trajectory. Two degree of freedom tilting mechanisms can be mechanically complex and can require significant power to operate. Mechanical complexity means increased system cost and weight, and consequently reduced system applicability and range. The power required to operate the tilting mechanism is power not available for other robot functions, and thus detracts from the range or functionality of the robot.
Accordingly, there is a need for a steerable vertical to horizontal energy transducer for mobile robots that less complex and requires less power than two degree of freedom tilt mechanisms.